This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

Based on the standard 25-year lifecycle for underground storage tanks, the USTs removed in 1999 were likely installed no later than 1974 — more than a decade before occurrence-based CGL policies began excluding pollution claims in 1986. The petroleum contamination documented in groundwater here — benzene, BTEX, and diesel constituents — is consistent with the type of gradual release that those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Historical carriers on the risk during that pre-1986 operational window may bear responsibility for the remediation costs incurred at this property.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.